A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a construction site flooring system, and more particularly to a flooring system formed of a plurality of interlocking flooring units having locking tabs and slots which may be positioned and retained in place without additional fastening means.
B. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years the search for oil has reached enormous portions. This search has extended into many geographic areas which heretofore were inaccessible to heavy equipment without substantial expense, such as swamps, marshlands, riverbeds or snow-covered regions. In order to explore for in such areas, it is necessary to locate heavy drilling rigs, vehicles and other equipment for some period of time on or adjacent to the location where the well is to be drilled. In order to transport this heavy equipment to the site and to support the equipment at the site, the industry has utilized for many years temporary roads leading to and from the site and flooring systems or pads at the particular site.
These prior art systems have typically taken the form of a series of wooden boards laid parallel to one another to form a layer. Multiple layers of such boards are formed by laying the individual boards perpendicular to the boards of the underlying layer. In the past, such board roads and pads have been constructed by hand by placing each individual board in position. Typically, a drilling site pad is constructed by manually laying one board at a time to form a layer of spaced, parallel boards of various lengths along the ground. A second layer of boards is then manually placed on top of the first layer with the boards of the second layer running perpendicular to the boards of the first layer. The boards of the second layer are typically nailed onto the underlying boards and retained in position. Often times it is necessary to overlay a third layer of parallel boards in a direction perpendicular to the boards of the underlying layer. Such a crisscrossing pattern of layered boards is continued until a pad of sufficient size and strength is formed.
After installation of such a flooring system and a road leading thereto constructed in a similar manner, the equipment is placed in position on the pad and drilling operations are begun. Upon completion of the well, the equipment, the pad and the road are typically removed. To remove the pad constructed by the prior art method, it is necessary to again manually remove each individual board since they are typically nailed to one another. Often times the boards are broken or damaged when the nails are removed or the boards are bundled together and transported to a second location. Also, since at least the bottom layer of boards are laid directly on the ground, they often times become embedded in the ground to such an extent that they cannot be removed easily or without being broken or damaged.
As a result of these disadvantages, the prior art method and apparatus of installing such flooring systems and roads requires large amounts of time and manual labor to install and remove. Such systems often sustain large amounts of damage to the individual boards during removal and relocating.
Also existing in the prior art are devices often referred to as crane mats. These units typically consist of a plurality of parallel, wooden timbers which have been secured together to form a rectangular mat. Such mats have been used to build runways or roads upon which a heavy piece of equipment such as a lifting crane or tractor may be driven. These mats, however, have not included any means to interconnect or lock the mats to one another. Also, since large wooden timbers are typically used, multiple layers of such mats are typically not used.
As a result of the shortcomings of the prior art, typified by the methods and apparatus as described above, there has developed and continues to exist a substantial need for a flooring system which can be easily and economically installed at a construction site such as an oil well drilling site. Despite this need, an economical yet efficient flooring system has heretofore been unavailable.